ICT tools in Low Decile Schools

Check this out.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10829627

This is the direction that we hope to take with our school.  The support from Rod has helped us make a start and now it is about developing the infrastructure further for our community of learners.

We currently have 25 Ipads
10 laptops including teachers
8 PC cmputers

for just over 51 students.

We are aiming for 1-1 capability
Wireless to reach our community
Computers in homes

Endless opportunities.

A very excited and manic
Principal

A small Bio of our school submitted to support ipads

Riverslea School 2011

A community of change

The Riverslea School Community

We are a small decile 1a school backing on to Karamu High School in Mayfair. Our community is on the cusp of Mayfair and Parkvale and we share many of the families with the two larger, wealthier schools.  Many of our students come from solo parent families, or are raised by grandparents or other caregivers. 

Our school is made up of 3 entities: Riverslea School, Riverslea Community Pre-School and Riverslea Community Trust.  We all have the same goal of providing a safe, nurturing and empowering environment.  Our School is truly at the hub of our community.

We are on a journey of change within our school.  The end of 2010 roll left the school with 28 students for 2011. We currently have 61 students and we are continually growing. There are many contributing factors for this growth but the most important one is summed up with this whakatauaki.

He aha te mea nui o te Ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.

What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, It is people, It is people.

We have passionate people who want to make a difference for our students and their whanau. 

New in 2011 

·      Data projectors for each class

·      Cameras for each class

·      7 laptops

·      Wireless capabilities

·      Online Profile School Website, blogsites and Youtube Channels

·      New School Uniform

·      The Riverslea School Inquiry Learning Model

·      Directional Street Signs

·      New Front Sign

·      School Flags

·      Bicycle track and Skills track

·      School bikes

·      Hastings City Library Visits

·      New Library System

·      School Leadership Team (Badge Holders)

·      Hastings Intermediate Transition Plan

Curriculum change

We have implemented the inquiry learning process this year and the growth in motivation, engagement, confidence and achievement has been outstanding.  Some of the successes have been:

• Students growing in confidence to present information, ideas and understandings to council officials, at the Hastings City Library, to the Riverslea Community Trust, School B.O.T and regularly to the whole school and whanau. 
• The excitement you see in students when they make a difference for themselves, our school, the community and on a global level, this amazing.
• The motivation and eagerness to get to school in the mornings.
• Growth in ICT skills, knowledge and confidence.
• Students being able to articulate and communicate clearly and confidently with adults and visitors.
• Students’ ability to access knowledge from a variety of sources.
• Reflective on outcomes, barriers and situations.

The flow on affect of the inquiry learning process is that students are motivated and engaged because they know they can make a difference.  The outcomes can be at four levels:

personally, for the school, Whanau/Community and at a global level through the online community. They become confident in themselves and their abilities as they start to have successes and see the difference they have been able to produce.  When you have motivated, engaged and confident students, they will achieve.

Team Dynamics

As well as changes with the students, we have had exciting and dynamic changes with our teaching team.  We have undergone regular professional development to up skill ourselves in ICT, and inquiry learning to be able to deliver an engaging and exciting curriculum.  With the coming of the ipads, we will be challenging the traditional teaching methods and exploring how online communities can support learning.  We as a staff, are undertaking teacher inquiry for us to be able to identify the impact that the ipads are having, with the focus area of literacy.  

Vision

We aim to be unique in many ways. We are an enviro-community that is connected to the world and we use ICT tools to help us impact globally from our small school community.  We will nurture and grow seedlings for our community and document the process for other communities to replicate and follow.  We reduce our carbon footprint though talking with innovative people locally, nationally and internationally using Web 2.0 technologies.  We aim to cycle to events but still be able to log it, blog it and communicate it with the world.  We are only limited by our own imagination!!!

Ko wai au/Who am I ?

Kia Ora Ko Maurice Inia Rehu ahau

Ko Tararua te maunga

Ko Manawatu te awa

Ko kurahaupo te waka

Ko Rangitaane me Ngati Raukawa ki te tonga nga iwi

I was born in Hastings, attended Camberley School, Heretaunga Intermediate, Hastings Boys High and Massey University.  I have been teaching for 9 years, the first 8 years of my teaching was in the Horowhenua.  I returned to Hawkes Bay this year as a first time principal to Riverslea School.  I am passionate about my job and the community I work in.  Growing up in Camberley, I can relate to my students and their whanau, I was just like them.  I know the importance of education, and the opportunities that are waiting for them if they have the right support, role models, energetic and passionate teachers.  I have returned to Hawkes Bay with my wife Gina (who teaches with me) and daughters Ruby (Napier Intermediate) and Grace (Riverslea School).

Rod Drury

Meeting Rod has opened up an amazing opportunity for our staff, students, their whanau and our community. The possibilities are endless.  This is an opportunity to create something very special for a community that has very little. 

Our team are constantly challenging ourselves to be innovative, engaging, passionate and exciting for our students.

Nou te rourou

Naku te rourou

Ka Or ate manuhiri

With your food basket

and food basket

the visitors will be feed

Within the food baskets are our passions, skills, knowledge, and what we bring to the school.

The visitors are our students and whanau and together they will be nurtured and nourished. 

Maurice Rehu

Principal

Riverslea School

Mayfair

Hastings

www.riverslea.school.nz

U Learn 2011

The changing face of teaching and learning has turned out to be bigger than I first thought.  I am currently in Rotorua at U lean 2011 with Toni Twiss and a group of ICT wizzes, beginners, and passionate educators from across the country and the ditch. There are so many exciting things happening in schools at the moment, but from what I see not many with the opportunity that we have.  There are plenty of classes with ipads, cows and pods of ipads and ipod touches.  Toni has opened up a number of networks for me to explore, apps, discussion groups and experts. Where to from here???? Reading, re searching and talking...

A still very excited principal who cant wait....

Lots more to add...

Maurice

Our Classroom Spaces

The traditional teaching spaces we have are very much the same as when I went to school.  Sitting at desks either in a group or individually in lines.  With the coming of the ipads we are looking at our classroom learning spaces.  Are we truly catering for individual needs???  We constantly talk about it but ask our students to sit in a certain way,  at a certain desk or table,  at a certain time.  This needs to change.  It was very exciting to see what other schools were doing with their furniture as they were upgrading their classroom spaces.  I saw how students could choose whether they were lying on the ground, working at a desk, snug in a bean bag or standing by a high table.  Truly catering for individual needs and learning styles.  Plenty for us to look at for our new classroom layouts.

We are now exploring low lying tables for those who wish to sit on the floor and rest on a table.  Ottomans for those looking for comfort, cafe style tables for those who wish to work around a small circular table, swiss balls, study booths for those needing focused closed off spaces.  This is very exciting to create an environment that will allow students to work in a they feel comfortable.

Inovation???
Exciting???
What else is there???

Maurice Rehu
Still Very Excited Principal
Riverslea School
Hastings

Up date so far...

As the news starts filtering down through out team and B.O.T the realisation of this opportunity is beginning to take affect.  People are being contacted for advice and services.
As a team we are exploring what an e learning school would look like.  What role will pen and paper play when we have Ipads?  What of our current furniture? will traditional desks be suitable?  So many things to think off.

When we finished our staff meeting, there was a feeling of excitement, and nervousness.  From the reactions, I felt we were ready for the challenges ahead.

Maurice Rehu
Nervous and Excited Principal
Riverslea School
Hastings

A chance meeting.

Kia Ora koutou katoa

Ko Maurice Inia Rehu toku ingoa.  I am the principal at Riverslea School in Mayfair,  Hastings.  We are a small decile 1a community school.  We currently have 53 students as of Monday the first of August.

On return from an inspiring first time principals residency course in Auckland,  I happened to be sitting next to Rod Drury CEO of Xero Accounting Software.  Our conversation covered many different areas from leadership to national standards, but the final outcome of the 50 minute plane ride back to Napier, 

continues to leave a smile on my face.  I was given an opportunity of a lifetime.  Rod was going to help supply each of my students with I pads.  Yes that is what I said.  All students and teaching staff with I pads. 60 in total.  

On return home and sharing this amazing opportunity with my wife Gina, who happens to teach with me,  we celebrated with a bottle of wine.  Over the next couple of days we started to explore what the outcomes of this would be and how we were going to implement and manage the changes ahead.

    P.M.I.S

How would this change student achievement?

How will we sustain this initiative as the school roll continues to grow?

What will we need to change to manage the infrastructure needed?

How will we get staff, board and community buy in?

PD for staff 

Change the format of our teaching day

Sponsorship

Security

Storage

Community outcome

Accountability more than just a toy

So many different aspects of this opportunity are still being thought of and thrown around.  

At the end of the day, we need to keep the main thing the main thing.  Student achievement, development, wellbeing and growth are paramount.  This tool will be there to enhance learning, connect us globally and show that our students are so important that they can have the best ICT tools available. 

Thank you again Rod for this amazing opportunity for my students and our community.

This is the start of our journey.  Destination ...... unknown......

Maurice Rehu

Excited Principal

Riverslea School. 

Hastings